We talk all the time about politicians “kicking the can down the road.” This is meant as a criticism, that they are procrastinating rather than resolving the problems confronting them at the moment.

The politicians do it because it’s expedient, but also under the assumption or desire that a solution will present itself in the interim.

We can see where they’re coming from. Lots of college players can fit into multiple positions on this list. Say: Le’Bryan Nash of Oklahoma State, Branden Dawson of Michigan State, Oregon transfer Mike Moser or Iowa’s Aaron White. They’ve all played both forward spots at one point in their careers, and probably will this season. And when things were jammed up as we compiled the small forward top 10, it seemed like a good idea at the time to consider them as power forwards.

Alas, there wasn’t enough room for them here, either, or for Baylor’s Cory Jefferson, UConn’s DeAndre Daniels, Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early or rising sophomores Brandon Ashley of Arizona and Perry Ellis of Kansas, players we expect to break out this season. That’s how many really good players there are at power forward, how many really good players there’ll be in college basketball generally.

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1. Doug McDermott, senior, Creighton

We will confess to being one of the few organizations that has yet to name McDermott a first-team All-American. There’s only so much room on those teams, and last year we spent that fifth spot on Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart without regret. We expect to join the party this season, though. McDermott has a very good chance to become only the eighth Division I player to cross the 3,000-point mark, which will put him in the company of scoring legends Pete Maravich, Lionel Simmons and Hersey Hawkins. Yep—if McDermott stays healthy, he’ll almost certainly end his career with more points than Larry Bird, Elvin Hayes and Danny Manning. That alone might have been worth another year in college.

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Jabari Parker, freshman, Duke

The truth is we do not know exactly what to expect of Parker, whose game has languished a bit since he delivered a ridiculously brilliant stint in the FIBA U17 World Championships title game against Australia last July. Playing on an injured foot, Parker singlehandledly turned a competitive game into a rout with 12 points in 14 minutes scored every which way: off the catch, off the bounce, tip-dunk, post-up. That injury affected his conditioning for much of his senior year, but he recovered to be named Illinois Mr. Basketball and lead Simeon High to a fourth consecutive state title. Healthy and in shape, he is a program-changing talent.

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Julius Randle, freshman, Kentucky

It seems possible Randle will have a greater impact on the Kentucky Wildcats’ season than on the 2013-14 season as a whole. He will be one of the most important components of their championship drive, a physically overwhelming force along the baseline who remains versatile enough to step away from the basket and make a few jump shots. Then again, DeMarcus Cousins made AP All-American averaging 15.1 points in 24 minutes per game. Randle’s going to play more than that, and maybe do more, as well.

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C.J. Fair, senior, Syracuse

There’s a lot of talk in basketball now about efficiency. Do Fair’s ears burn during each of those conversations? That’s Fair all the way: no wasted motion, no wasted shots, no wasted opportunities. You’d hardly know he is on the floor if he weren’t so frequently making mid-range jump shots and grabbing important rebounds. He scored in double-figures in each of SU’s five NCAA Tournament games, including 22 against Michigan in the Final Four.

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Adreian Payne, senior, Michigan State

He has been a supporting player for so long that the question now is whether he’ll be comfortable as a star. The difference between 10 points per game and 16 isn’t just three baskets, it’s how teams account for you defensively, how your own team positions you for the extra shots and whether you believe those opportunities should belong to you. Payne is a terrific rebounder and shot-blocker, but the difference between the excellent role player and the star is producing at the offensive end.

There are few more compelling talents in college basketball. Anderson is one of the game’s best passers and an almost effortless rebounder because of his long reach and ability to read where shots will come off the rim. With an improved jump shot, he legitimately would threaten not only the best players on this list but at any position in college basketball. There’s also the question of whether Anderson will be summoned to fill the Bruins’ vacancy at point guard—yes, point guard—and how he’ll succeed if that occurs.

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Chane Behanan, junior, Louisville

The rebounds he ripped away from the Michigan Wolverines in the second half of the NCAA championship game underscored how tenacious Behanan is, and how hungrily he will play. But let’s be honest about this: sometimes that’s the only way he gets his hands on the ball. Louisville didn’t run a post-up play for him in the national semis until the final five minutes. With Gorgui Dieng out of the picture, perhaps the Cards will throw Behanan the ball more frequently.

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James Michael McAdoo, junior, North Carolina

Playing out of position at center most of last year, McAdoo did not get enough credit for hanging tough against big guys like Mason Plumlee and Alex Len and somehow managing to produce 14.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. McAdoo’s issue is developing something in the game that works for him consistently. He needs to find the seams for jump shots that seem to come so naturally for Syracuse’s C.J. Fair, or develop his range to the 3-point line the way Michigan State’s Adreian Payne has. Make no mistake, though: The people giving up on McAdoo are the ones making the mistake.

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LaQuinton Ross, junior, Ohio State

Consider all the shots left behind when power forward Deshaun Thomas decided to enter the NBA draft: 584 from last season alone. Ross surely had to spend the offseason pondering how many of those would end up in his hands, if not all of them. Ross showed he will be ready to handle stardom when he scored 17 or more points in the Buckeyes’ final three NCAA Tournament games. He’ll be the primary offensive option this year—and look how that worked for his predecessor.

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Jamil Wilson, senior, Marquette

He averaged 9.7 points in his second season at Marquette after transferring from Oregon. So why would we possibly choose him over someone as gifted as Jakkar Sampson of St. John’s? It’s because we’ve seen this picture before. Every year, someone at Marquette blossoms and every year the Golden Eagles establish themselves as a national force. Did you see the whole Vander Blue thing coming last summer? Or Jae Crowder or Jimmy Butler before that? No, we won’t get fooled again. Wilson is a talent: quick, long, aggressive. And Marquette’s Buzz Williams uses the available talents to advance the program. That’s what happens.